I don’ t know about you, but I feel like polenta is a generally untapped source of amazing deliciousness. Most of the times I’ve had it, it’s been rather flavourless and the preparation left something to be desired from the texture. I’m on a mission to make this easy-to-prepare dish fun, fresh and exciting! These fries are inspired by my husband’s hatred of olives and my petulant love of them. One day a long time ago, someone said you only had to eat thirteen olives to acquire the taste for them. I was the fussiest child and I fought my way through all my dislikes, with olives being the strongest and the most stubborn. I set to work with thirteen garlic-stuffed olives. It was hard, but after that harrowing experience, the next time I passed the olive bar in the grocery store, they smelled and looked a little more appealing. Anyhow, let’s just say many a single-person meal has been constructed around garlic stuffed olives since then. My husband has so many allergies, we’re fighting to make olives available to him and this side dish was a step in that direction.
What they are is a crispy, frugal, fuss-free vehicle for any number of flavour combinations – and that is pretty damn fun. You can also have a blast mixing and matching dipping sauces! I went for a straight sriacha sauce – but that’s because the kitchen still isn’t entirely unpacked.

Combine the cornmeal and water in a medium sauce pan and whisk over medium high heat until boiling. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer until it becomes creamy, about 10 minutes. Add the parsley, sundried tomatoes, olives and herbs and whisk to combine. Pour mixture into a wax paper lined 8 x 8 inch baking pan and let set until firm in the refrigerator. This should take about an hour, but I guess it will depend on your fridge. Once the polenta is firm, carefully remove from the pan and slice into fry shaped rectangles. Heat, over medium heat, enough canola oil to cover the bottom of your skillet. Lightly dregde each polenta fry in a little bit of flour and put into the hot oil. Fry on each side for a couple of minutes, until a very light golden-brown colour has been achieved. Serve warm, with whatever dipping sauce you like.

About

We here at The Leafy Cauldron believe food should be life affirming. We can do better! Started in 2011 as passion project to share a love of Harry Potter and vegan food, we've now branched out to focus on fun, fresh and innovative recipes that also happen to be allergy-friendly with zero compromise when it comes to taste and texture.

Dissatisfied with some common attitudes in vegan cooking, we decided to start a log of our own kitchen adventures. You’ll find fun and fresh recipes here presented in a to-the-point fashion. I promise to never, ever use the words “real food”.

If you're dealing with allergies and you're hoping to find a familiar recipe, let us know on Facebook and we'll try to help you out!

All cartoon artwork you see on the blog is made by the immensely talented Helen Bee Illustration!